Starting over in a historic loft, Lindsey Brown discovers her downtown style

By Sarah Rufca

Updated 8:52 am, Friday, April 12, 2013

Photo: Dave Rossman, Freelance

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Lindsey Brown at her home in the Franklin Lofts Thursday Feb. 14, 2013.(Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

Lindsey Brown at her home in the Franklin Lofts Thursday Feb. 14, 2013.(Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

Photo: Dave Rossman, Freelance

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Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A modern dining table and Ikea chairs offset antiques peppered about the space and the apartment's historic bones. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on Craigslist serves as a bar. A statue of dancers in the living room, purchased at the Houston Ballet Ball auction, nods to Brown's love of dance.

Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A modern dining table and Ikea chairs offset antiques peppered about the space and the apartment's historic bones. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on

Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A modern dining table and Ikea chairs offset antiques peppered about the space and the apartment's historic bones. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on Craigslist serves as a bar. A statue of dancers in the living room, purchased at the Houston Ballet Ball auction, nods to Brown's love of dance.

Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A modern dining table and Ikea chairs offset antiques peppered about the space and the apartment's historic bones. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on

Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A modern dining table and Ikea chairs offset antiques peppered about the space and the apartment's historic bones. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on Craigslist serves as a bar. A statue of dancers in the living room, purchased at the Houston Ballet Ball auction, nods to Brown's love of dance.

Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A modern dining table and Ikea chairs offset antiques peppered about the space and the apartment's historic bones. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on

Brown bought her bed from One Kings Lane. At the foot of the bed, the bench came from High Fashion Home in Houston.

Brown bought her bed from One Kings Lane. At the foot of the bed, the bench came from High Fashion Home in Houston.

Photo: Dave Rossman, Freelance

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Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on Craigslist serves as a bar set-up in the dining area. Pink and orange chairs offer pops of color in the living room. The wooden swan mirror in the bathroom and the statue of dancers in the living room nod to Brown's love of ballet.

Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on Craigslist serves as a bar set-up in the dining area. Pink and orange chairs offer pops of color in the living room.

The exposed brick walls inside the Franklin Lofts are a focal point of Brown's living area. The sofa is from West Elm, pillows from High Fashion Home, orange cymbal lamp from CB2. (Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

The exposed brick walls inside the Franklin Lofts are a focal point of Brown's living area. The sofa is from West Elm, pillows from High Fashion Home, orange cymbal lamp from CB2. (Dave Rossman/ For the

Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on Craigslist serves as a bar set-up in the dining area. Pink and orange chairs offer pops of color in the living room. The wooden swan mirror in the bathroom and the statue of dancers in the living room nod to Brown's love of ballet.

Clockwise from top: Lindsey Brown in her downtown loft. A 100-year-old steamer trunk found on Craigslist serves as a bar set-up in the dining area. Pink and orange chairs offer pops of color in the living room.

The vanity at Lindsey Brown's home in the Franklin Lofts Thursday Feb. 14, 2013.(Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

The vanity at Lindsey Brown's home in the Franklin Lofts Thursday Feb. 14, 2013.(Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

Photo: Dave Rossman, Freelance

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The bar area was inspired by a similar set-up seen on Pinterest. The steamer chest was found on Craigslist for $100, while the antique window-framed mirror was a steal from Old Town Spring.(Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

The bar area was inspired by a similar set-up seen on Pinterest. The steamer chest was found on Craigslist for $100, while the antique window-framed mirror was a steal from Old Town Spring.(Dave Rossman/ For

Lindsey Brown at her home in the Franklin Lofts Thursday Feb. 14, 2013.(Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

Lindsey Brown at her home in the Franklin Lofts Thursday Feb. 14, 2013.(Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

Photo: Dave Rossman, Freelance

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Lindsey Brown at her home in the Franklin Lofts Thursday Feb. 14, 2013.(Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

Lindsey Brown at her home in the Franklin Lofts Thursday Feb. 14, 2013.(Dave Rossman/ For the Chronicle)

Photo: Dave Rossman, Freelance

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Starting over in a historic loft, Lindsey Brown discovers her downtown style

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Lindsey Brown owned a whopping two pieces of furniture when she moved downtown in 2012.

Brown, the director of marketing and public relations for the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, left behind the Rice Military townhouse she shared with her ex-husband for an intimate-but-airy 1,100-square-foot studio in the historic Franklin Lofts, which at eight stories was Houston's first skyscraper and the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it was completed in 1904.

"I was looking for something completely different, and I thought, 'When do you get a chance to live downtown, in a loft, in an urban space, unless you're sort of starting over and doing something new?'" said Brown.

Starting with only exposed brick walls, a mattress that sat on the floor and an antique vanity, Brown recruited interior designer Kristina Wilson to help her figure out her style, after living a decade with hand-me-down furniture from her former in-laws.

"I never really thought about 'What is my style' or 'What kind of feel do I want my home to have,' " said Brown. "That's why (working on this apartment) was such an interesting process - not only am I living alone for the first time, but I'm also figuring out what is it that I like, and what kinds of things I gravitate toward."

Brown's first task was to explore Wilson's Pinterest boards, commenting on furniture and design elements to give Wilson a better idea of her taste. It was a Pinterest image that inspired the pair to recreate a bar set-up in a corner of the loft's dining area, starting with a 100-year-old steamer trunk purchased on Craigslist and a mirror in an antique window frame picked up in Old Town Spring.

In the open living room, a comfy cream-colored couch and coffee table from West Elm face bright pink and orange wingback chairs, another Craigslist find which Wilson had reupholstered in bold fabric from High Fashion Home. In lieu of a bookcase, books peek out from beneath a wood TV console from Reeves Antiques in Montrose.

"I never would have thought that I would be the person to gravitate to a bright pink chair," says Brown. "I love the console and I love what we did with my books, having them out on display in a not-so-traditional way."

Brown, a serious ballet dancer in her youth, also has references to dance peppered around the loft, from a swan-shaped mirror in the bathroom found at the Guild Shop to a statue of dancers that she won at the Houston Ballet Ball auction in 2012.

As for her original two pieces of furniture? In the bedroom, a bench from High Fashion Home backs into the bed frame Brown bought online via One Kings Lane; her mattress no longer sits sadly on the floor. Nearby, a yellow printed stool from the Guild Shop adds splash to the antique vanity.

The final result is a fresh space that Brown says represents her authentically, in a location that puts her in the center of the up-and-coming district she champions at her day job at the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"Living downtown has given me a different perspective on how to promote it," says Brown. "Instead of promoting downtown as a whole, I promote it in pockets because that's how it feels when you're here."